BORTOLAMI GALLERY BRINGS CONCEPTUAL ARTIST,
ERIC WESLEY’S WORK TO THE DALLAS ART FAIR.

produced this form to manage my life,” says Los Angeles-based conceptual artist, Eric Wesley. He adds, “I didn’t have artwork in mind to start with.” The form in question is for the Daily Progress Status Report that he began using about four years ago. Two years ago, he began the process of translating this into art, using it as the basis for his DPS painting series. These works, represented by New York’s Bortolami Gallery, make their local debut at this year’s Dallas Art Fair.

The DPS works are rooted in the mundane job of list-making. Each morning, Wesley fills one of these in. It is an hour-by-hour schedule, with the date on top. There is even a box to check upon completion. Sometimes the forms are filled in with actual tasks. Often they serve as a backdrop for sketches, fruit stains, and other ephemera of life in the studio. Next, he lays that paper, regular copier grade, onto a light box. In addition to illuminating the list, it also shows the grain of the paper. Using this as a template, Wesley creates large paintings on brushed aluminum that he then bolts to canvas. According to gallerist Stefania Bortolami, the aluminum replicates paper in that it can be manipulated in the same way. Corners of several DPS paintings are folded or torn. Wesley originally planned to create about 30 of these paintings, one for each day that the work is typically on the walls during a gallery exhibition. Since most art fairs run for three days, that is how many DPS paintings will be in the fair.

For Wesley, these paintings go beyond a replication of his daily schedule. He cites Renaissance artists Leonardo da Vinci and Piero della Francesca as major influences, particularly their use of sfumato. This art historical term describes atmospheric effects that create imperceptible gradations of light. He says, “At the moment, I am really into the ether stage: the reflection and refraction of light due to paper and how I relate that onto the metal.” To achieve this effect, he uses a variety of media, from oil and enamel to airbrush. The diethyl ether in the airbrush creates “a physical connection between the picture plane and my body,” he adds. However, unlike the work of the Renaissance, Wesley’s aim is not to perfect nature. “A lot of pictures have stains or soils, or they’re torn. It is the idea of the accident. That’s the art,” he explains.

“The DPS have entertainment value, which I really appreciate,” says Wesley. Lest anyone construe conceptual art as a purely intellectual exercise, this is a sentiment Wesley repeats often. His humor also shines forth in an earlier installation work, “D’Cartes Blanche.” Yes, there is a reference to French philosopher René Descartes in there. Beyond the play on words the work is an amalgamation of formalism, engineering, and philosophy.